RV Southern Surveyor program. (Sydney to Hobart)

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Gervais Sherman
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1 2010 RV Southern Surveyor program voyageplan SS2010-T04 (Sydney to Hobart) An examination of the temperate reef and deep sea benthic fauna of the south eastern Australian shelf and the trophic relationships between euphausids and larval fish Itinerary Mobilise Sydney: 16:00hrs, Tuesday 2nd November 2010 Depart Sydney: 06:00hrs, 3rd November, 2010 Arrive Hobart: 18:00hrs, Sunday 7th November, 2010 Demobilise: Monday morning, 8th November 2010 Principal Investigators Dr Sebastian Holmes (Chief Scientist/Benthic Invertebrates The University of Sydney (USYD). Phone: Dr Rudy Kloser (BOAGS) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. Phone: Dr Ron Thresher (St Helens corals) CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. Phone:

2 Scientific Objectives The focus of this program is to give students a taste of what it is like to live and work on an ocean going research vessel and to expose them to some of the different sampling methods and equipment that are used in biological research programs. The students will have three (quasi) scientific aims, which will contribute to our knowledge about Australian waters, as follows: 1) to characterise the macro-fauna inhabiting a unique geological feature (reef) off the coast of Wollongong; 2) to examine the effect of depth on species composition in Bass Canyon and 3) to examine the trophic relationships between euphausids and larval fish, extending the work of the Taylor cruise (ss2010_v08). To a large extent aims 1 and 2 align with those of Dr Rudy Kloser (CMAR) and complement the piggyback project of Dr Ronald Thresher, which will provide the students with a window into another benthic habitat. For Kloser, the voyage provides an ongoing opportunity to use vessel transit time to complete a national mapping of the upper-mid slope seabed with multi-beam mapping and associated ecological interpretation. The upper-slope and mid-slope seabed 100 m to 1500 m depth range, are regions important for regional marine planning, biodiversity and conservation assessments and fisheries habitat mapping. On this voyage we will use a ongoing and developing piece of equipment, the Benthic Optical Acoustic and Grab sampler (BOAGS), which can survey, by video and acoustically, and selectively sample (surface fired Smith-Macintyre grab) the benthos. The benthic sampling carried out by the students will supplement BOAGS. Conversely and importantly, BOAGS will allow the students to survey a much broader area and ensure the correct gear is deployed, thereby increasing their exposure to deep sea fauna. In addition, depending on what is obtained, some of the benthic material collected (macro fauna) will be used by a postgraduate student at the University of Wollongong for their Ph.D. in natural products chemistry. Voyage Objectives The voyage objectives fall into three categories, pelagic sampling, benthic sampling and swath mapping. Pelagic sampling Sampling (Ben Harris) will be carried out two locations, Jervis Bay & Eden, with a vertical CTD cast, two N70 casts and three EZ net casts (deep/slope/shelf) at 5 depths from 200m to the surface. EZ net samples will be sorted to remove and ID any euphausids and larval fishes. A subset of these will be flash frozen for later use in lipid, stable isotope and RNA analyses. The remaining individuals will be examined under dissecting microscopes, separated into the main taxonomic groups, photographed and preserved for later examination. In addition, a few expendable bathythermograph (XBT) casts will be made to characterise the water masses and absorption and sound velocity profiles for calibrating the swath mapper. 2 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

3 Benthic sampling Sampling will occur at three different sites: Wollongong reef The reef, which has extremely high back scatter reflectance, sits in m of water, 38 km south east of Wollongong and is 32 km long and 2 km wide supporting a diverse and abundant fauna (a serendipitous observation was made during ss2009_t03). Sampling will take place at four stations along the reef, two on top and two on the seabed immediately adjacent to it. At each station, BOAGS will be deployed to provide a 30 minute video transect of the sea floor and obtain a sample of the sediment. The fauna observable on the video feed from BOAGS will be classified in real-time by the students and samples taken from the sediment for physical characterisation (organic content/grain size analysis), microbial diversity and meio-fauna. The water column will be profiled using the CTD (water samples will be taken at some stations and an XBT will be substituted at some of the stations) before the bottom is trawled/dredged (beam trawl/seamount sled). Bass Canyon Sampling will be made at 3 sites transiting from North to South up slope at 2500 m (or as close to as possible), 1500 m and 700 m. Sampling will follow a very similar schedule to that for the Wollongong reef with the Smith- MacIntyre grab being additionally deployed at the 700 m station. St. Helen s seamount The water column will be profiled using the CTD to a depth of 2500 m, with water samples taken at 500, 750 and, thereafter, at 100 m intervals below 1000 m. Moving up slope to around 1100 m, BOAGS will be deployed, the seabed surveyed (30 min) and a live sample of coral collected at two different sites. Depending on the bottom composition a trawl/dredge will be deployed to collect further material from these sites. All data and specimens collected by the students will be made freely available to the key voyage participants. In addition, during the voyage and outside of sampling stations, students will take it in turns to watch for marine mammals, assist with the swath mapping/processing and manually process water samples for dissolved oxygen content (weather dependant). In addition, we may supplement the sampling and research with a series of lectures and practicals utilising the material/data collected. Swath mapping Throughout the voyage the swath will be operated (see Table 1) with the Canyon Head off Jervis Bay being of particularly high priority. 3 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

4 Voyage Track Indicative map of the transit from Sydney to Hobart, denoting the three main benthic sampling sites, Wollongong reef (WGR), Bass Canyon (BC), St Helens Seamount (SHS) and the two pelagic sampling sites Jervis Bay (JB) and Eden (ED). 4 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

5 Time Estimates A full list of activities and timings are tabulated below. Highest priority tasks are in bold, medium priority tasks are underlined and lowest priority tasks are italicised. Sydney to Wollongong reef (WGR) (~100 km/54 Nm), leg 1 Departing Sydney at 06:00 on the 3rd of November, the vessel will steam south westerly along the NSW coastline arriving at Wollongong reef around midday. Once at the reef, sections will be swathed, BOAGS deployed (30 minute bottom times), CTD casts made and trawls/dredges taken. Thirty minutes are allocated for steaming between stations and deployment estimates are conservative. Location arrival depart Gear (deployment time) Sampling depth Lat/Long Cumulative time arrival/departure (distance) Sydney (White Bay) 06:00 Following swath route leg 1. Station 1 (WGR 1) reef top North 12:00 14:30 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (60 min)*. Beam trawl/seamount sled (60 min). CTD cast (30 min) m 34:32 S, 151:12 E 6/8.5 h (100 km/54 Nm) Station 2 (WGR 2) adjacent to reef North 15:00 17:00 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (60 min)*. Beam trawl/seamount sled (60 min). XBT cast m 9/11 h (105 km/57 Nm) Station 3 (WGR 3) reef top South 17:30 19:30 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (60 min)*. Beam trawl/seamount sled (60 min). XBT cast m 11.5/13.5 h (110 km/60 Nm) Station 4 (WGR 4) adjacent to reef South 20:00 22:30 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (60 min)*. Beam trawl/seamount sled (60 min). CTD cast (30 min) m 14/16.5 h (115 km/63 Nm) Depart for Jervis Bay 22:30 Gear on main winch to be changed from BOAGS/Beam to EZ net. Track following swath route leg 2. * depending on the gear configuration all BOAGS activities may be performed first before using the trawl/dredge. 5 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

6 Wollongong reef to Jervis Bay (JB) (~80 km/43nm), leg 2 Departing Wollongong reef around 22:30, sailing directly to Jervis Bay to begin pelagic sampling (EZ net, N70 and CTD) in the early hours of the morning. CPR to be deployed for subsequent steam to Eden. Location arrival depart Gear (deployment time) Sampling depth Lat/Long Cumulative time arrival/departure (distance) Arrival Jervis Bay 03:00 35:01 S, 150:51 E (TBC) 21 h (195 km/105 Nm) Station 5 (JB PSS 1) 03:00 04:30 EZ net to 200 m, 7 min tows at 5 depths (50 min). CTD cast (20 min). 2 x N70 casts (10 min) 200 m Deepwater (TBC) 21/22.5 h (195 km/105 Nm) Station 6 (JB PSS 2) 05:00 06:00 EZ net to 200 m, 7 min tows at 5 depths (50 min). 200 m Slope (TBC) 23/24 h (200 km/108 Nm) Station 7 (JB PSS 3) 06:30 07:30 EZ net to 200 m, 7 min tows at 5 depths (50 min). 200 m Shelf (TBC) 24.5/25.5 h (205 km/111 Nm) Station 8 (CPR 1) 07:30 CPR to be deployed for transit to Eden. 24.5/25.5 h (205 km/111 Nm) Depart for Eden 07:30 EZ net to remain on main winch, if possible. Track following swath route leg 3. Jervis Bay to Eden (ED) (~240 km/130 Nm), leg 3 Departing Jervis Bay at breakfast with a long steam to Eden, to begin the second series of pelagic sampling (EZ net, N70 and CTD). CPR to be deployed for subsequent steam to Bass Canyon. Location arrival depart Gear (deployment time) Sampling depth Lat/Long Cumulative time arrival/departure (distance) Arrival Eden 20:30 CPR to be retrieved. 37:04 S, 150:01 E (TBC) 38.5 h (445 km/240 Nm) Station 9 (JB PSS 1) 20:30 22:00 EZ net to 200 m, 7 min tows at 5 depths (50 min). CTD cast (20 min). 2 x N70 casts (10 min). 200 m Deepwater (TBC) 38.5/40 h (445 km/240 Nm) Station 10 (JB PSS 2) 22:30 23:30 EZ net to 200 m, 7 min tows at 5 depths (50 min). 200 m Slope (TBC) 40.5/41.5 h (450 km/243 Nm) Station 11 (JB PSS 3) Friday 00:00 Friday 01:00 EZ net to 200 m, 7 min tows at 5 depths (50 min). 200 m Shelf (TBC) 42/43 h (455 km/246 Nm) Station 12 (CPR 2) Friday 01:00 CPR to be deployed for transit to Eden. 43/43 h (455 km/246 Nm) Depart for Bass Canyon Friday 01:00 Gear on main winch to be changed from to EZ net to BOAGS, EZ net can be stowed. Track following swath route leg 4. 6 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

7 Eden to Bass Canyon (BC) (~280 km/150 Nm to start of Bass Canyon (2500 m station) + ~ 111 km/60 Nm to end of Bass Canyon (700 m station)), leg 4 Departing Eden around midnight, arriving at Bass Canyon on Friday afternoon, starting with the deepest station BOAGS will be deployed (30 minute bottom time) followed by a trawl or a dredge. Exactly the same procedure will be followed at the 1500 and 700 m stations, sailing to St Helens seamount early morning. CPR to deployed for subsequent steam to St Helens seamount. Location arrival depart Gear (deployment time) Sampling depth Lat/Long Cumulative time arrival/departure (distance) Arrival Bass Canyon Friday 16:00 CPR to be retrieved. 38:33 S 148:44 E 58 h (735 km/397 Nm) Station 13 (BC 1). Waypoint 17 (47).* Friday 16:00 Friday 20:30 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (110 min). Beam trawl/seamount sled (160 min). CTD cast. <2500m 58/62.5 h (735 km/397 Nm) Station 14 (BC 2). Waypoint 21 (51). # Friday 22:30 01:30 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (80 min). Beam trawl/ seamount sled (110 min). 1500m (around 38:54 S, 148:41 E) 64.5/67.5 h (778 km/420nm) Station 15 (BC 3). Waypoint 24 (54). #* 03:30 04:00* Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (50 min). Beam trawl/ seamount sled (70 min). 700m (around 39:29 S, 148:51 E) 69.5/70 h (825 km/445nm) Station 16 (CPR 3) 04:30 CPR to be deployed for transit to St Helen s. 200 m 70.5/70.5 h (825 km/445 Nm) Depart for St Helens Seamount 04:30 Gear on main winch to be BOAGS. Track following swath route leg 5. # choice and timing between stations subject to change. *Station 15 is very time dependant and will only occur if we have made time up on subsequent stations (i.e. 2 h needed for sampling schedules yet only ½ h allocated). 7 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

8 Bass Canyon to St. Helens seamount (SHS) (~185 km/ 100 Nm), leg 5 Arriving at St Helens seamount on afternoon an initial CTD cast will be made to 2500 m. Moving up slope to 1100 m, BOAGS will be deployed the bottom surveyed and an attempt made to select a coral specimen followed by a trawl or dredge, all repeated at a second site. The vessel will then depart on the homewards leg back to Hobart around midnight arrive back in Hobart late Sunday afternoon. Location arrival depart Gear (deployment time) Sampling depth Lat/Long Cumulative time arrival/departure (distance) Arrival St Helens Seamount Station 17 (SHS 1) Station 18 (SHS 2) 14:30 14:30 18:00 17:30 20:30 41:14 S, 148:49 E 80.5 h (1010 km/545 Nm) CTD cast (3 h) Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (70 min). Beam trawl/ 2500m 1100 m: BOAGS to be deployed at both stations first before gear is changed over to beam/sled. 80.5/83.5 h (1010 km/545 Nm) 84/86.5 h (1015 km/548 Nm) seamount sled (90 min). Station 19 (SHS 3) 21:00 23:30 Deployment and grab sample taken with BOAGS (70 min). Beam trawl/ seamount sled (90 min) m 87/89.5 h (1020 km/550 Nm) Station 20 (CPR 4) Sunday 00:00 CPR to be deployed for transit to Hobart 200 m 90/90 h (1020 km/550 Nm) Depart for Hobart Sunday 00:00 90h (1020 km/550 Nm) St Helens seamount to Hobart (~335 km/180 Nm), leg 6 Location arrival depart Gear (deployment time) Sampling depth Lat/Long Cumulative time arrival/departure (distance) Depart St Helens Seamount Sunday 00:00 90h (1020 km/550 Nm) Arrive Hobart Sunday 18:00 N/A 108 h (1352 km/730 Nm) NB for all dredges/trawls the vessel is assumed to be effectively stationary/not heading in a particular direction (normally ½ - 1 knot trawl speed) and for calculating winch times for the benthic sampling a rate of 60 m per minute has been used and the appropriate amount of extra wire added in. For the CTD casts a retrieval winch speed of 20 m per minute has been used. 8 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

9 Piggy-back Projects Ocean chemistry at St Helens seamount: relationship to coral distribution Ronald Thresher (CSIRO) Ocean acidification has been suggested to pose a grave threat to the health and survival of Australia's deep-sea coral reefs. However, the relationship between carbonate saturation states and coral distributions, if there is one, is poorly known, in Australia and overseas. In 2009, the ROV Jason documented the distribution of deep-sea corals on seamounts off St. Helens (NE Tasmania). Scientific objective: It is proposed to collect data on carbonate saturation states at the St. Helen s seamount to: 1) test the hypothesized relationship between saturation levels and the distribution of the corals, and 2) to collect live reef-forming coral (Solenosmilia variabilis) for a pilot study of the coral's environmental tolerances. The data will also extend our knowledge of seasonal and spatial variability in ocean carbonate chemistry, to help validate regional models. Voyage Objectives: A standard hydrocasts will be taken off the St. Helen's seamount, to a depth of 2500 m, with water samples taken at 500, 750 and, thereafter, at 100 m intervals below 1000 m. Samples will be fixed on board for carbonate analysis. The seafloor will be surveyed and live corals collected using BOAGS and an epi-benthic dredge/seamount sled (bottom dependant), at a depth of about 1100 m. Distribution of plankton along the east coast of Tasmania Kerrie Swadling (UTAS)/Frank Coman (AusCPR) Using the continuous plankton recorder (CPR) our knowledge about the distribution of plankton can be greatly improved without impacting ship-time and/or activities. Scientific objective: To obtain a transect of plankton distributions along the east coast of Tasmania. Voyage Objectives: The CPR will be deployed on 4 legs of Nm during the voyage. 9 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

10 Southern Surveyor Equipment Smith-Macintyre grab Rock dredge Small epi-benthic sled XBT CTD + bottles Underway clean seawater supply Underway thermosalinograph, fluorometer and pco2 monitoring systems running throughout the voyage duration Blast freezer EZ net Small winch set up for the continuous plankton recorder User Equipment Beam trawl (Alan Williams, supported by Rudy Kloser) Neuston net (Iain Suthers/Matt Taylor) N70 net (Iain Suthers/Matt Taylor) BOAGS & winch for BOAGS (Rudy Kloser) Chilled seawater aquarium and pre-cleaned sampling bottles (Ron Thresher) Continuous sampling recorder (Kerrie Swadling/Frank Coman) Seamount Sled/Sherman dredge (CSIRO supported by Rudy Kloser) Liquid nitrogen + dewar. General sampling preservation equipment /material (ethanol < 20 l, formalin). Special Requests If it is possible we would like to come off board with the CTD/ XBT data (most important for the pelagic sampling)? Because of the combination of heavy gear (BOAGS, beam trawl etc.), limited deck space and the need to change wires we will have to juggle what gear is deployed when, i.e. where possible gear changeovers need to minimised. If possible, can we put an extra block on the A frame to deploy the CPR, i.e. so we don t have to change blocks over from main gear to CPR? 10 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

11 Personnel List Sebastian Holmes USYD Chief Scientist (1st watch leader) Natasha Henschke UNSW 2nd watch leader Rudy Kloser CMAR Scientist (BOAGS/swath) Matt Sherlock CMAR Technician BOAGS Ronald Thresher CMAR Scientist (St Helens seamount) Ben Harris UNSW Ph.D. student (pelagic stations) Ana Zivanovic University of Wollongong Ph.D. student Daniel Harrision University of the Sea Student Belinda Dechnik USYD Student Amelia Shannon USYD Student (swath support) Bevan Yiu USYD Student Amanda Roe USYD Student Jeff Cordell CMAR MNF Voyage Manager/ electronics support Mark Lewis CMAR Gear support Hiski Kippo CMAR MNF Computing Support As per AMSA requirements for additional berths on Southern Surveyor, the following personnel are designated as System Support Technicians and are required to carry their original AMSA medical and AMSA Certificate of Safety Training on the voyage: Name AMSA Certificate of Safety Training No. Hiski Kippo AS02377 Jeff Cordell AS02398 Matt Sherlock This voyage plan is in accordance with the directions of the Marine National Facility Steering Committee for the Research Vessel Southern Surveyor. Sebastian Holmes Chief Scientist 11 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

12 Leg 1: Sydney to Wollongong reef Way- Latitude Longitude Decimal Decimal Distance Distance Cumulative Remaining Bearing Comments point latitude longitude (m) (Nm) distance (Nm)# distance# S E Sydney Heads S E , S E , S E , S E , S E , S E , S E , Start of Wollongong reef Notes: 1. Starts from Sydney Heads not the wharf 2. #nominal distances, will increase/vary according to activities at sites. Leg 2: Wollongong reef to Jervis Bay Way- Latitude Longitude Decimal Decimal Distance Distance Cumulative Remaining Bearing Comments point latitude longitude (m) (Nm) distance (Nm)# distance# 0 (8) S E , End WGR 1 (9) S E , (10) S E , (11) S E , Jervis Bay (JB) Notes: 1. #nominal distances, will increase/vary according to activities at sites. Leg 3: Jervis Bay to Eden via Canyon heads Way- Latitude Longitude Decimal Decimal Distance Distance Cumulative Remaining Bearing Comments point latitude longitude (m) (Nm) distance (Nm)# distance# 0 (12) S E , Canyon head start 1 (13) S E , Canyon head end 2 (14) S E , (15) S E , (16) S E , (17) S E , (18) S E , (19) S E , (20) S E , (21) S E , (22) S E , (23) S E , (24) S E , (25) S E , (26) S E , (27) S E , (28) S E , (29) S E , Eden Notes: 1. #nominal distances, will increase/vary according to activities at sites. 2. Canyon heads a priority. 12 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

13 Leg 4: Eden to Bass Canyon Way- Latitude Longitude Decimal Decimal Distance Distance Cumulative Remaining Bearing Comments point latitude longitude (m) (Nm) distance (Nm)# distance# 0 (30) S E , End Eden. 1 (31) S E , (32) S E , (33) S E , (34) S E , (35) S E , (36) S E , (37) S E , (38) S E , (39) S E , (40) S E , (41) S E , (42) S E , (43) S E , (44) S E , (45) S E , Optional 16 (46) S E , (47) S E , Bass Canyon 2500m 18 (48) S E , (49) S E , (50) S E , (51) S E , Bass canyon 1500 m 22 (52) S E , (53) S E , (54) S E , Bass Canyon 700 m Notes: 1. #nominal distances, will increase/vary according to activities at sites. 2. Waypoints 17 (47) 24 (54) cover Bass Canyon stations and may change. 13 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

14 Leg 5 Bass Canyon to St Helens seamount Way- Latitude Longitude Decimal Decimal Distance Distance Cumulative Remaining Bearing Comments point latitude longitude (m) (Nm) distance (Nm)# distance# 0 (55) S E , End Bass canyon 1 (56) S E , (57) S E , (58) S E , (59) S E , (60) S E , (61) S E , (62) S E , (63) S E , (64) S E , (65) S E , (66) S E , (67) S E , St Helens seamount Notes: 1. #nominal distances, will increase according to activities. 14 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

15 Leg 6 St Helens seamount to Hobart Way- Latitude Longitude Decimal Decimal Distance Distance Cumulative Remaining Bearing Comments point latitude longitude (m) (Nm) distance (Nm)# distance# 0 (68) S E , End St Helens seamount 1 (69) S E , (70) S E , (71) S E , (72) S E , (73) S E , (74) S E , (75) S E , (76) S E , (77) S E , (78) S E , (79) S E , (80) S E , (81) S E , (82) S E , (83) S E , (84) S E , (85) S E , (86) S E , (87) S E , (88) S E , (89) S E , (90) S E , (91) S E , (92) S E , (93) S E , (94) S E , Iron Pot 27 (95) S E , (96) S E , (97) S E , (98) S E , Hobart Notes: 1. #nominal distances, will increase according to activities. 15 VOYAGE PLAN SS2010-t04

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